Deepwater overflow through Luzon Strait

Abstract:

This study examines water property distributions in the deep South China Sea and
adjoining Pacific Ocean using all available hydrographic data. Our analysis reveals that
below about 1500 m there is a persistent baroclinic pressure gradient driving flow from the
Pacific into the South China Sea through Luzon Strait. Applying hydraulic theory with
assumptions of zero potential vorticity and flat bottom to the Luzon Strait yields a transport
estimate of 2.5 Sv (1 Sv=106 m3 s-1). Some implications of this result include: (i) a
residence time of less than 30 years in the deep South China Sea, (ii) a mean diapycnal
diffusivity as large as 10-3 m2 s-1, and (iii) an abyssal upwelling rate of about 3×10-6 m s-1.
These quantities are consistent with residence times based on oxygen consumption rates.
The fact that all of the inflowing water must warm up before leaving the basin implies that
this marginal sea contributes to the water mass transformations that drive the meridional
overturning circulation in the North Pacific. Density distributions within the South China
Sea basin suggest a cyclonic deep boundary current system, as might be expected for an
overflow-driven abyssal circulation.